Automatic phonograph



June 27,1944. H IN' R 2,352,542

AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Nov. 24, 194i 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 27, 1944. J, HEINS; JR 2,352,542

AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed Nov. 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jzw ezzr I Patented June 4 Application November 24,'194i, SerialNo. 420,304 Y 'This inventionrelates to automatic, phono- .graphs, and is especially concerned Withma- .phonographiembodying this-invention;

chines oiithe drop-table type, ,i'."e., those in which changing of the recordsis effected by dropping successive records .onto'thef turntable from a record-supporting gstructure arranged thereabove.

More'particularly, the invention has reference J to machines of. this'general type, which utilize a central non-rotative spindle adapted to support a stack of records abovethe turntable, and

causing the lowermostyrecord to slide downirito playing,position when the tone, arm is swung .01! of the'tumtable.

It has been found that such machines are sub ,ject to certain difliculties, which arise from the in which suitable mechanism is. provided for fact. that shocks maybe transmitted from the turntable, or the cabinet structure, to the record-supporin'g jspindlei This'often causes the machine to drop two records at oncefduring the change cycle, astheimpact of"i'hefliirs'iz record v striking" the turntable may transmit suflicient vibration to the supporting'ispindlto shake another record loose from the small retainin shelf formed in the upper portionpof said spindle. Similarly, a; shock to the cabinet during the playing of a recording, as by slamming a lid or the like, often resultedin the dropping of an additional record onto-the top of the tone arm, with possible consequent damage to both the pick-up and therecordin'gsJ- With the above in mind,-it-is the primary objectof the present invention to eliminate the aforesaid-difilculties by the provision of a record-supporting structure of such a character I that shocks of theabove type .are prevented from interfering with the. proper operation of the mechanism. v

It is a more particular object of the invention to provide a= ,non-rotative record-supporting spindle, which although positionedby the .cen- .tral turntable .bearingstructure through which it passeais mounted with-freedom to float somewhat with respect thereto. i

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a structureof the above type which isof' simple-and compact construction, and,in

which thefreedom for floating will, .be positively maintained within the desired values;

The manner inwhich the above objects and advantages are realized togethenwith others in cident to the invention, will be clear" from a consideration of the following description, taken with theaccompanying drawingsin which: 1 1

, 2 s asectional'view on ,a -rlarger seal illustrating the; record supporting spindle and the-structure with which it cooperates? oi Fig.v 2, with'the securing nutremove'd; v c 'Fig. 4 is a sectional'view on an enlarged'scale,

taken 'a's indicated by the section linefll-f-t of i -2 e .Fig. 5 ,is' a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating an alternativeform'of the invention; and Fig. 6 is asectionalview .on a larger'scale of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig.5,

Beierflng 16 I particularly to the drawings, Fig. I1" illustrates the essentials of one f or mf of automatic phonograph'embo'dying the invention. The baseplate, indicated at'l carries the usual tone arm 2, by means of 1a coinpouridpivoti, ac

'commodating both swinging and "vertical movement of said tonefarm." The baseplate'is pro 1 'vided with a central recessed'portion 4 inwhich is mounted the turntable: 5. "A central turntable hub 6 is provided,rivetedto the turntable as at 6a, and at its lower end carries crown-gear teeth, I (see Fig. 2) adapted to engage, but normally 3 spaced from, 'similarteeth 8, formed on the upper face of a lower'gear member 9. 1

*Hubmembetl and gear 9 areboth rotatably carried by a'hollow post .10, which extends from "-ithe plane of the upperface of the turntable, down through an aperture formed in a depending U-shaped bracket II. This postalsocooperates with-therecord-supporting spindle S in :tumtable on the post, the vertical thrust being a manner which will be fullydescribedlater;

A bushing 12 serves'to' rotatably mount the taken bya circular flange l3, formed on; the l post 10, and cooperating witha washer I4 against. which the hub 8 bears. f'lo provide a Power take-off for the cycling mechanism, gear member 9' is mounted with-freedom for axial I by a lifting fork |s,: p1vctea,atn,; and-actuatmovement, againstthe pressure of aspring [5,

into engagement with the teeth] formed on hub member 6. This vertical movement is effected able by means of a solenoid l8, S hOW Illnfig. 1.

, As clearly f'appearsin'Fig; 4 ,;gear 9 is equipped, with pur teeth-'19 Which cooperate with an idler. gear, 20. (seefFig; 1) which in turn mesh I Jame-,0: alma'sterfcam 22.7

s withlteeth ll ter ed an thefcircumfertrain .used'form no part of the present invention, per

Asi the particular cycling cam and gear 'se, and are fully described and claimed in U. S. 1

Fig. 1 is I asectionalview f of an, automatic Fig. 3 a sectionaifview taken on the line 3 3 thehollow post, v v However, .for the purpose ofincreasing the f vibrational isolation, the embodiment illustrated provides novel spindle securing structure. Spin- 7 die 8 is fixed against rotational and axial'movenot be "particularly. described here. However, it should be mentioned that cam 22 is pro- I vided with a number of different cam surfaces,

I which operate (in responseto the energizatlon' of solenoid II and consequent engagement of gear teeth I and l) to raise" the tone arm and swing it of! the record, and also to actuate the record 7 support and release mechanism now to be described.

As best appears i!1 .Figs. 1:;and 2,.a plurality of records R are supported at their centers by the upper portion of .spindle 8, which has a flat g r 2,352,042 Patent 2 339J81 g-rant6d January 25, 194,4 they connection.' 1 I. Y r v a To facilitate assembly of the mechanism, post ill flares outwardly in its middle region to provide a diameter at least ,as great as that of annular shoulder I3. As thepost must be inserted through the aperture in bracket II from above, this allows the inside diameter of the bearing surface of gear 9 to be great enough to permit passage of the gear overshoulder l3, after the post has beeninserted and fastened at its lower end. The hub' of the turntable is, of course,

shoulder 23 formed to engage the undersideof the lowermost record at its center opening. The

outer edge of the bottom record is supported by either one of two shelves 2 and 28, depending upon the size of the records to be played. Each shelf carries projections 2i shaped to engagethe underside and the edge of the bottom record, as appears in Fig. 1; the shelves, in turn, being carried by an upstanding post 21, fixed to an actuating arm which is pivoted to the frame of the machine at 29. Post "and arm llform a bellcrank which isactuated by a cam projection (not visible) formed on the lower faceiof master ,cam 22, to move the shelf structure slightly towardthe spindle S, (This pushesthe lower record past the edge offshoulder Z3, and

allows it to drop'onto the turntable. Tofaid in preventing the dropping-.coffmo're than one record, spindle S is provided with a pivoted pawl gear s is positioned.

passed downwardly over the spindle S and into contact with the upper face of shoulder it, after In Figs. 5 and 6, there is illustrated an alternative form, of spindle mounting, which, al-

'thoughpermitting the same'desired clearance .between the post and the spindle, varies in the manner of flxing'the lower end of said spindle. Referring particularly to Fig. 6, post ill is'providedwith internal threads 36 at its lower end,

which cooperate with a reduced threaded portionjl'of spindle 8, there being considerable play between the cooperating threads. A pair of washers 32 -32 andanut'fl again serve to secure shaft 'ili'td bracket ll, The lowermost extremity of spindle Sis of non circular form "and cooperates with a suitable complementary ll .(see Fig. 2) which serves tourgefall but the "lowermost record somewhattoward the right as viewedinFig. 1.

However, as mentioned previously, the impact oi a record falling on the turntalzileias well as v ,other shocks) is often:sufiicient to cause such vibration, of spindle S, as to shake. an" additional record past awl Id and shoulder a, and cause it to dropupon the turntable. JI'his d'ifiiculty is eliminated by a floating spindle mounting, one form of which is illustrated inFigs'. 2 and 3.

Spindle 8 extends downwardly through post ;II,- and the cooperating surfaces of the postand spindle are carefully machined .to fallow-moveaperture formed in a small bracket II, to hold the spindle against rotation. In both of the forms illustrated the lower spindle securing means is in the 'nature' of the 7 recesses"; while in the second form, there is appreciable play between the threads 31 formed mentof the'spindle within the post, of about 36 ofran inch. .This value may vary butr'nust be kept small enough so.v that any movement of the spindle. which may occur during playing of a recording, will be, of 'so small anextent as -to'produoe no objectionable eccentricity of .the

rotating record. The clearance maybe clearly seen in Fig. 2. At their lower; extremities both post and spindle are provided-with reduced portions. and the clearance therebetween is still maintained. "The reduced portion of post I. pro- It be evident thatthe lower'end of spindle S mi'ghtjbe' fastened in a numberof different ways, while'still maintaining the desired clearance, between said spindle and the inner. wallof ments, by a transverse pin extended through {the spindle and post III, and seated in a pair of oppositely facing recesses- "a. Km 3),

formed .in the lower face'oi' bracket ups on spindle S fand the cooperating internal threads" of post Iii. It should be noted that this connection is'eflectedadjacent the lower ends of the spindle andpost, i. e., at a point well removed from the surface of theturntable where most of the shocks arise. Moreover. as these elements are connected to '2. depending bracket which is part of thelmainframing of the machine, any vibrations; which might travel down post. il,. wi1l'be substantially dissipated inthe vides an annulargshoulder tl which cooperates 1 with washers 82-3! and'securing nut 33, to fastenpost 10 to U-shaped bracketi i, and thereby maintain the post inproper vertical alignment.

main framing, without affecting the spindle. From the foregoingit will be evident that this inventionprovides an automaticrecord changing mechanism which employs the simple, inexpensive drop-type of'change structure,but which is -not subject to difliculties heretofore encountered in such devices, as the record spihdleyalthough positioned by the turntable support structure, is

vibrationally isolated therefrom.

'In' addition, the floating spindle-support structureof the invention not only provides'an adequate solution to the problems set forth, but does sowithout complicating the phonograph" mechanism, or adding materially to its cost.v

Whiletwo preferred formsof the invention have been illustrated, itjwill be evident that the device might'be modified in certain respects without departing from-the spirit of'the invention.

In general, the "invention contemplates such changes as may fall'within the scope'of the appended calms."

brought out later, this constitutes a lost motion I claim:

1. In an automatic phonograph-of the type having a rotatable hub, means for supporting a, stack of records above a turntable and mechanism for successively dropping said records into playing position, a central record-supporting spindle extending upward through the hub of the turntable, and means arranged below the surface-pf said turntable for supporting said spindle against rotative and axial movements, and for positioning said spindle in spaced relation to said hub, thereby isolating the record-support ing means from shocks arising in the turntable and its supporting structure. i

2. In an automatic phonograph of the type having means for supporting a stack of records tive post to which saidspindle is loosely coupled.

3; An automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, central bearing means for rotatably supporting said turntable, means including a non-rotative spindle for supporting a stack of records above the turntable, and mechanism for successively dropping said records into playing position, .said spindle extending down through said bearing means in spaced relation thereto and-being coupled to a'lower portion thereof through a lost motion connection, whereby said spindle 'is efiectively isolated from shocks 0 vibrations.

4. An automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, a central hollow bearing shaft for said turntable, means including a non-rotative spindie for supporting a stack of records above the turntable, mechanism forsuccessively dropping said records into playing position, the lower per-'- tion of said spindle being extended downwardly 7 through said bearing shaft in spaced relation "thereto, and means providing a lostmotion connection between said bearingshaft and said spindle, and normally serving to maintain said spindle in spaced relation to the inside wall of said shaft. V

5.'A construction in accordance with claim '4,

wherein both said shaft and said spindle are provided near their lower extremities with interfit ting reduced portions, and wherein saidlost, motion connection is effected'between said portions.

6. An automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, 'a central hollow bearing shaft for said turntable, means including a non-rotative spindle'for supporting a stack of records above the turntable, mechanism for successively dropping -said records into playing position, the lower portion of said spindle being extended downwardly through said bearing shaft in spaced relation thereto,'and means comprising a pin and slot connection between said shaft andsaid spindle for providing lost motion therebetween, whereby said spindle is effectively isolated from shocks or vibrations. Q v I 7. A construction in accordance with'claim 6,

in which a transverse frame member is provided below the turntable, means securing the lower portion of said shaft to said frame member, said pin extending outwardly from said shaft into engagement with said frame member, whereby said spindle is held as against rotational movement.

8. An automatic phonograph comprising a turntable, a central hollow bearing shaft for said turntable, means including a non-rotative spindle for'supporting a stack of records above the turntable, mechanism for successively dropping said records into playing position, the lower por-- tion of said spindle being extended downwardly through said bearing shaft in' spaced relation ,7

thereto, means providing a lost motion connection between said bearing shaft and said spindle, and normally serving to maintain said spindle in spaced relation to the inside wall of said shaft, said last-mentioned means comprising cooperating internal and external threads formed on said shaft and said spindle respectively, and means securing said spindle against rotational moves ment.

9. An .automaticphonograph comprising a tumtable, a'central hollow bearing shaft for said turntable, means including a non-rotative spindle for supporting a stack of records above the turntable, mechanism for successively dropping said records into playing position, the lower portion of said spindle being extended-downwardly through said bearing shaft in spaced relation thereto, meansproviding a lost motion connec-' tion between said bearing shaft and saidspindle, and normally serving to maintain said spindle in spacedrelation to the inside wall of said shaft, a I 'said last-mentioned means comprising'relatively coarse internal and 'external threads formed on said shaft and said spindle respectively and providing a lost motion connection therebetween,

and a member engaging said spindleto restrain it against rotational movement.

JOHN J. HEINS, JR. 

